Tag: Fantastic Fest 2014

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) Two years later, producers Ant Timpson and Tim League have returned with another anthology of horrific ways to die.  Twenty-six directors have been assigned a letter of the alphabet and must come up with a title that defines a method of death.  The great thing about these… Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2014 Review: ABCs OF DEATH 2

By Mark Saldana Rating: 2.5 (Out of 4 Stars) After loving the first V/H/S and liking V/H/S 2 very much, I found this third installment mediocre overall.  With two great segments (Dante the Great and Parallel Monsters), one tiresome chapter about skateboarding teens (Bonestorm) and a terrible, non-sensical wrap around, V/H/S Viral isn’t a total waste of time.  However,… Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2014 Review: V/H/S VIRAL

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) From executive producers Nicolas Lopez and Eli Roth, The Stranger marks the English language debut of writer/director Guillermo Ameodo.  The Uruguay native is better known for his Spanish language movies filmed in Chile. With The Stranger, Ameodo and company continue their tradition of working in Chile,… Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2014 Review: THE STRANGER

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) This mystery thriller features an exceptional international cast and definitely delivers intrigue, thrills and awe-inspiring twists.  Man From Reno stars Ayako Fujitani as Aki, a jaded mystery novelist who has grown tired of the promotional circuit and just wants to get away for a while. Ending… Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2014 Review: MAN FROM RENO

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) This was the third documentary I watched at the festival.  I truly am surprised at the amount and quality of the documentaries this genre festival has to offer.  This particular film by writer/director Matthew Salton takes its audience to The Kingdom of the Little People, a… Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2014 Review: DWARVES KINGDOM

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) After bringing his directorial debut (Man of Tai Chi) to Fantastic Fest last year, Keanu Reeves has returned.  This year Keanu attended the festival  in support of his latest starring role, an assassin seeking revenge in the bullet-riddled John Wick.  Known infamously in the underworld, John Wick… Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2014 Review: JOHN WICK

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) For those who thought the end of Dead Snow was the end for hero Martin (Vegar Hoel), writer/director Tommy Wirkola has something to say about that. Picking up exactly where the first movie ends, Dead Snow 2 not only gives audiences more of a backstory for… Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2014 Review: DEAD SNOW 2: RED VS DEAD

By Mark Saldana Rating: 4 (Out of 4 Stars) From Canada, this often hilarious, yet sometimes unnerving, documentary about a self-proclaimed karate expert turned movie director tells an entertaining, but truly bizarre story.  Elliot Scott lives to make action movies in Nova Scotia.  He, his girlfriend Linda, and an assortment of friends and collaborators have… Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2014 Review/Interview: KUNG FU ELLIOT

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Director Mark Hartley (Not Quite Hollywood, Machete Maidens Unleashed) continues his series of documentaries on cinema history with another brash and entertaining film about a couple of infamous Israeli producers who took the film world by storm. Starting in the late 1970s and continuing through the 1980s… Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2014 Review/Interview: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO: THE WILD UNTOLD STORY OF CANNON FILMS